Book IV. 



GATES APPROPRIATE TO AGRICULTURE. 



503 



3094. In Parker's improved swing gate, the diagonal bar rising from the lower part of the heel of the 

 gate meets the middle of the rail, and the two upright bars are placed at proper distances between the 



_ middle and the head of tlie gate: 



I " 503 | ^ these cross bars must, he thinks, 



=jt I assist very much in keeping the 



gate together ; but what is most 

 to be guarded against is its sink- 

 ing at the head, to prevent which 

 this gate is, he says, well con- 

 trived. 

 3095. Menteath's field-gate {fig. 

 I " 503.) is a very light and strong 

 form, and at the same time not 

 expensive. When the head sinks, 

 it is raised by the simple opera- 

 tion of applying a larger washer 

 between the key- wedge, which 

 retains the hook of the upper 

 part of the heel (), and the hang- 

 ing-post. The fastening latch is 

 protected from the rubbing of cattle by a recess in the falling.post (6). Gates of this description are 



generally made in Scotland of pine or fir timber, or 

 what is called foreign plank or deal. Mr. Menteath 

 has the good fortune to possess on his own estates 

 extensive plantations of pine planted by himself, and 

 already affording an ample supply for gates and other 

 purposes. We have already adverted to his mode of 

 rendering this timber more durable by steeping it in 

 lime-water; the same process will also render it less 

 liable to warp when applied to the construction of 

 gates. In England, when gates are to be painted or 

 tarred, they are generally made of pine or fir; when 

 not to be painted, of oak. 



3096. Hunter of Thurstori's economical field-gate 

 {fig. 504.) is said to be very light and durable. The 

 hanging-post is held in its place by one or two coarse 

 props of wood (a), and when it can be got, by a large 

 stone (6). The inventor gives the following " 



Advantages. 



" This makes the gate as light as possible, with, 

 out diminishing its strength ; and, by bending, it 

 will save the risk of breaking, like the reed in the 

 fable. 



" This causes it to fall back on the hedge when 

 open, so that a cart cannot strike it. 

 " This gate will not rot at the hinges. 



" It will either open or shut of itself, except when 

 three quarters open ; and, if the point should 

 droop, the upper hinge will take it up ; and it pre- 

 vents the joining of the upper bar at the head of 

 the heel (c) from separating. 



" The gate being ten feet by four, this is probably 

 the best angle for a diagonal ; and it hardly requires 

 a nail to keep it in its place." {Quart. Journ. Agr. 

 vol. ii.) 



3097. The improved park-gate {fig. 505.) deserves to be more generally adopted, particularly in the fields 



Description and 



" With the exception of a small spar for lambs, all 

 parts of the above gate taper regularly from four 

 inches to three inches in breadth, and from one 

 and a quarter to three quarters in thickness, but 

 any other proportions may be adopted. 



" It is not placed between the posts, but on the 

 face of the hanging-post. 



" The hinges are not near any joinings of the 

 wood. 



" Each part of the under hinge is one inch and a 

 half longer than the upper ; and the upper shortens 

 by means of a screw and nut. 



"Thegateisdividedintofourparts,of which the 

 diagonal embraces two." 



505 



near gentlemen's houses, where there is much inter- 

 course. Much of the excellence of this gate depends 

 on the manner in which it is hung, and the following 

 improved mode of hanging is given in the Quarterly 

 Journal of Agriculture. " The upper hinge (a c), 

 fixed on the topmost bar of the gate, is formed with 

 a band or crook in the common manner, and is re- 

 ceived into the socket of the hinge (i), which may 

 either be fixed in the post by lead, or continued through 

 it, and fixed with a screw-nut. The advantages of 

 forming the upper hinge to move in a socket are, 1. 



That, while space is given it to play, it is firmly sup. 



ported in its place ; 2. That the means are afforded 

 of causing it to move smoothly at all times, by pouring 

 a little oil into the socket. The lower hinge is 

 formed on the principle of affording two pivots, or 

 points of support, to the lower part of the gate. It 

 consists of two iron plates, placed horizontally at the 

 distance from each other of three eighths of an inch, 

 the upper of which {d) is fixed to the post, and the 

 lower (c) to the gate. From the underside of the 

 upper plate project two cylindrical knobs of iron, 

 placed perpendicularly. These are received into 

 the upper plate c, so that the gate rests upon 

 the two upright pieces of iron as pivots. The gate, when shut, has thus three distinct points of 

 support, namely, the socket of the upper hinge, and the two lower pivots, the former of which is thus 

 placed at the vertex, and the latter at the base of an isosceles triangle. Froni this construction, it results 

 that the gate is only in a state of equilibrium when, being shut, it rests on both the lower pivots, and that, 

 when opened, it must tend to regain its former position. The more distant from the lower points of sup- 

 port the socket is placed, the more firmly is the gate retained in its place, and prevented from trailing on 

 the ground : and the more distant from each other these two points are, the more strongly does the gate 



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